Entwined threads
by NoxThrall
Summary: Hers was a destiny of fatality and destruction. His was a fate of despair and death. Neither were supposed to meet... But somehow, someway, their threads of destiny mingled together. And from that encounter, a new chapter of the future was written...


_« First, everything went dark. Hope was dead, as the few braves who tried to prevent the return of the Destroyer failed miserably. Then the gem shined like the last shard of a dying star; reality crackled under a noise akin broken bones and howls of sufferance. A portal emerged between the hands of fate, upon which an abyss of twirling flames of and torrents of blood could be seen._

_And then … then things started to get bad …"_

First chapter of The Beginning of the End, first book of the Dreaded wars, by Observant- Chronicler Drhyzh Xfar Nyldrazor.

* * *

Despair has its ways to find itself anchored within the hearts of peoples. For Danny, who had so many times already stood over the brink of defeat, who had fought his way over so many impossible odds, he thought he had a pretty good grasp of what despair was.

Whether it was his first fight with Skulker, when he barely stated to get a grip on his abilities and was toyed by him, only to be saved by the Deus ex PDA of Tucker

Or when of Spectra scheme nearly crippled him psychically when she passed herself as a school councilor, making him doubt himself further and further.

Or when he was locked inside himself blind and deaf, under the control of a staff, courtesy of the ringmaster Control Freaks.

Or fighting the all-powerful Pariah Dark, a fight where, even with the Fenton Ekto-Skelleton, he found himself terribly outmatched.

So yeah, Danny truly believed he already knew what despair mean.

But as he watch the sight of his whole life, of everyone he ever loved or cared, tied up to this ridicule doomsday device from the Nasty Burger, only a moment ago from exploding, he was forced to reconsider his conceptions.

He was tired, no scratch that he was exhausted. Fighting his evil future self had left him with empty reserves, no more juices to turn ghost, and the only thing he had left was to run in his human form.

In retrospective, it was kind of foolish. Even if he were to reach them in time, what would he do? The ecto chains that tied up his family and friends (plus Lancer) would be too strong to be cut by his present tired self. In fact, he had a feeling than even at full power, he would struggle quite a bit to undo them, taking in account what he knew of Dark Dan, all his powers had evolved to great heights in the future, and the fact that those chains remained even after he managed to imprison him into the Fenton thermos proved theirs sturdiness.

But even so, he ran. With all of his body, with all of his willpower, he ran!

He ran, knowing, deeply, that it wouldn't be enough.

His family should have realized it too, because they appear to be resigned to their fate. The last thing they did, was to convey all that they felt in their gazes. And from now on to the rest of his existence, Danny would forever remember theses Gazes.

Lancer, a harsh professor may he be, but one that, unlike all others of his profession, had never given up on Danny case, had always strived to make him persevere and work hard.

"…_Well, I definitively didn't expect to die like this. At the very least, I finally had an explanation about all theses unjustified absences. In the future, try to correct that attitude would you?_

_Goodbye Mr Fenton"_

Jack Fenton, his dad. Always so quirky, so passionate about ghosts. Something he had been resentful in the past, believing his dad loved his passion more than his kids. But now more than ever, would he want to apologize to him for thinking such.

"… _Glad to see that you are perpetuating the family business. I wish we had spent more time together. I'm sorry that I wasn't a better dad. Next time we see each others, I promise that you and I are going on the most epic fishing trip ever ! _

_Goodbye son…"_

Madeline Fenton, his mother so strong and so joyful. Even though her passion of ghost could be overbearing at times, she always was trying to be a good mom, to connect with him and his sister.

" … _Don't be to hard on yourself. You did good sweetie, and though I'm sad that you never told us the truth about you, I'm happy to see you use this power for good"_

_Goodbye sweetie …"_

Jazz, his so smart, so kind sister, That he envied many times, that was on his nerves even more times, but who never stopped being supportive toward him.

"…_I'm proud of you little brother, keep being true to that path you have choosed. Never stop to believe in yourself, no matter the difficulties that you may face._

_Goodbye little brother…"_

Tucker, the best friend he ever had or even deserved, who helped him so many times

"…_Its okay dude, you did your best. I'll be waiting for you for another party of Doomed. I'm proud to have been your best friend and to be a part of your life._

_Goodbye bro…"_

And … Sam… The girl that understood him so well, who persuaded him to be a hero

The girl that he loved, realizing only now, when it was too late, that he should have act on those feeling earlier.

" _Thank you Danny, I will never regret the wonderful times that we have spend together, the only thing I regret is that this time has now come to an end. Never forget us … and more importantly, never forget who you are._

_Goodbye my love."_

He tripped then, even his human body was now out of energy, and so he lift his head, carving forever, for the last time, the faces of those that had make his whole life worthwhile.

Then the explosion occurred, and his whole live went into smoke and flames.

And so, finally, Danny learnt true despair.

____Entwined threads____

Continuity …

The unbroken and consistent existence of something over time… Not many knew this, but it was a fact that reality was a one huge river, of flow of information with no end, and no beginning. It was a contradictory fact that didn't made any senses to reason. As such, it should have been impossible to be able to prophesy the future, to change events. One could nibble smalls nuggets of time and saw a possibility amidst the infinites probabilities that could be, but never in certainty. It was an ironclad law of reality.

A law that did not apply to him.

He was, he is, he will be. His name is Clockwork, master of time and the one who know everything. He was known through many circles, countless cultures under different names, different conceptions. It was said that he was born as the exact moment the universe began. Others that he was the god of all sentient beings in the universe …

The truth, Clockwork know, was more simple. Like all inhabitants of the ghost zone, he was here for a reason. Whereas some were the souls of the deceased who were unable to finish their earthly business, he was part of the cast who represented idea and concepts. Some represented nature, others dreams, or even ancient gods.

His was the concept of time, ever since the first mortals began to ponder over his function.

He was the one who could peer through the infinite flow of time and never go mad. And as such, he had this overbearing weight on his shoulders, to make choices of his own decision. The observant thought they had this right over him, but none of them could truly saw about every impacts than a decision could bring to reality.

It was his burden, his very own struggle between acceptance and defiance, the eternal fight that one must accept for a being such as him, to accept that something must happen, for the well being of all that exist, or the will to change it, to later reap a greater reward.

Oh, how strong was the temptation for someone with a power so potent. How countless tragedies could be averted, how many disasters would be cancelled, how many lives could be saved from an atrocious fate.

Unfortunately, or fortunately depending the one concerned, Clockwork knew each and every nooks and cranny of reality. To meddle in a timeline would cause incredible ripples in the future, saving one life for a time could lead to countless deaths in the future, including the very life saved from the previous decision. After all, strength is bred from adversity, resolve is created from loss, as long as one will is strong, he can become the strongest being in existence.

As such, it was because of one mugging in a dark alley turned bad, that a city was saved time and time again from being swallowed by the darkness.

It was because of an entire planet demise, than another was saved numerous times by one of his sole survivor.

It was because of a peticular curse, turning a once great man into a tyrannical being, than one would rise and defeat him, changing the fate of two worlds.

It was because of the folly of youth of one woman, which lead to her rape by evil given form, that she would later gave birth to another that would contribute to his demise.

And once again, the time had come for him to choose: to accept reality and do nothing, or to meddle and change the path ahead.

In a different reality, He would have chosen to intervene. He would have saved the young hero family, saved his psyche from the darkness ahead, thus make him continue to walk further upon his path of heroism, where he would have become a splendid beacon of hope.

But this plan of existence was different. Here wasn't a world where ghosts were the biggest factor. Here was a strange plan where two universes, originally separated, had long ago merged in the strangest of ways. As such events were now to played differently that they should originally have, leading to outcomes that only he could see.

And they were too few of them ending happily.

And as much as it pained him, for the path leading to the better future, young Daniel family had to die, he had to feel the darkest despair, the dreadful pain of having his life destroyed in front of his eyes. He HAD to get burnt horribly into a pile of miserable cinders, so that in the end, he may rise from it, like a phenix in a glorious flame of rebirth, so that the shining path may be uncovered.

Yes, He had to let it happen. He had to do nothing, for the sake of a whole world. It would be hard for Danny, but he knew that it would be for the best in the end.

It didn't stop the pain though. And neither the feeling that he was the worst bastard of all realities …

* * *

**Author notes: For years, I have been an avid reader of stories. I may have reads thousands of stories, some good, some bad, some exceptional. But it wasn't until I personally tried my hand that I finally realized something.**

**Writing a story is hard. And writing a good story is beyond compare.**

**This is my first try, with a concept that has been done before, but with a twist of my own. I have no idea where it will end, or even if I will manage to make it as good as I want it to be, but I must give it a try.**

**Also, English is not my mother tongue. I would greatly appreciate any review or constructive critics to improve.**

**From humble beginnings, one aspires to rise.**


End file.
